Singaporean writer Sonny Liew and his graphic novel Charlie Chan Hock Chye have received yet another honour: three Eisner awards – widely regarded as the Oscars of comics. This prize represents an immense feat for an artist from home who has already garnered numerous international honors for his work, which revolves around Chan Siu Bok.
Prince William arrived at Jewel Changi Airport Tuesday with hundreds of fans holding homemade signs and Union Jack flags in response to his arrival for the third Earthshot Prize ceremony, in Singapore, where winners were each awarded $1 Million to scale up innovative solutions across five categories that address nature protection, clean air, ocean revival and waste elimination. Prince William spoke at this event and stated there remains hope despite what he termed its daunting challenges facing our planet today.
One of the winning ideas was a solar-powered dryer designed to reduce food waste; another featured a device to make electric car batteries less polluting; while a fifth winning concept involved matching volunteers with non-profit organizations. Winners will use their prize money to further develop and market their ideas.
On Wednesday evening (Oct 25), several local businesses were recognized at the 21st Singapore Prestige Brand Award ceremony organised by Singapore Press Holdings to recognise local brands that stand out in an increasingly competitive business landscape. StarMed Specialist Centre, Craftwork Construction Company and Coliwoo were all recipients in the Promising Brands category of this prestigious award ceremony.
Twenty-nine Singapore businesses ranging from heritage names to regional players were honored at this year’s Brand Excellence awards, including healthcare provider StarMed Specialist Centre as the overall winner in Promising Brands; StarHub took top honours in Established Brands; while suicide prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore won by invitation and won Special Merit status.
The Singapore History Prize will be given out on May 23, 2021 and this year’s shortlist comprises 49 titles out of an initial pool of 192 submissions; this represents a decrease from last year’s submission total of 224 works. Established as part of Singapore 50 celebrations in 2014 by NUS Department of History and administered by Department of History as Singapore’s inaugural history prize, its shortlist also represents 49 titles this time around.
This year’s shortlist was selected by an esteemed panel of historians, public intellectuals, and cultural figures from Singapore’s historical community and literary landscape. A book has been shortlisted in both English and Chinese fiction categories for the first time – an unprecedented feat! NUS professor Wang Gungwu chaired the prize committee and lauded this year’s shortlist for its fundamental reinterpretation of Singapore history through novellas that present alternative interpretations from different angles and perspectives of past events. Members of the public can also vote online for their favorite among shortlisted titles; winners in each language will receive $1,000 prize.